WO2014097436A1

WO2014097436A1 - Control device, display device, firmware updating method, and firmware updating program

Info

Publication number: WO2014097436A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/083017
Authority: WO
Inventors: 清水　孝
Original assignee: Ｎｅｃディスプレイソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2012-12-20
Filing date: 2012-12-20
Publication date: 2014-06-26
Also published as: CN104871135A; US20150331688A1; JP6057392B2; CN104871135B; US9804831B2; JPWO2014097436A1

Abstract

A control device (500a) provided with a storage unit (501), a version information acquisition unit (502), and a version management unit (503). The version management unit (503) compares an own-device version indicating version information of the device itself stored in the storage unit (501) to each of a plurality of other-device versions indicating version information of other devices imported by the version information acquisition unit (502), and in accordance with the comparison results, when the own-device version is older than the newest other-device version of the plurality of other-device versions, issues a transfer request to the control device that corresponds to the newest other-device version for firmware corresponding to the newest other-device version.

Description

Control device, display device, firmware update method, and firmware update program

The present invention relates to a control device, a display device, a firmware update method, and a firmware update program.

In a multi-display system configured by combining a plurality of display devices, if the control program (firmware) is updated for each display device, rewriting processing is required for the number of display devices, and the update time becomes longer. Therefore, a technique is known in which a control program included in each of a plurality of display devices constituting a multi-display system is rewritten in a short time by an external device (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Also, when a multi-display system is installed, the firmware version of the display device may not be the same. Further, in maintenance of a multi-display system in operation, display devices with different firmware versions may be mixed. In such a case, the latest firmware can be transferred from an external device such as a personal computer to a plurality of display devices by applying the technique described in Patent Document 1, and the firmware can be rewritten in each display device.

JP 2001-236233 A

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the firmware of all display devices constituting the multi-display system is rewritten at the same time. For this reason, when a display device in which the latest firmware has already been written is included in the multi-display system, the firmware rewriting process is also performed on the display device.

Also, it may take time to connect the computer device to the display device of the multi-display system for the firmware rewriting process. Further, when the multi-display system is installed embedded in a wall surface or the like, the operation may be difficult.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and easily controls the firmware of a plurality of display devices constituting a multi-display system to the latest firmware in the plurality of display devices. A firmware update method and a firmware update program are provided.

[1] In order to solve the above-described problem, a control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores self-device version information indicating a firmware version of the self-device, and a plurality of the control devices. A version information acquisition unit that captures other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the control devices, and the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit and the version information acquisition unit. A plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information are compared, and if the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions according to the comparison result, the latest For the control device corresponding to the other device version, the latest other device version It includes a version management unit that performs a transfer request of the firmware corresponding to John, the.

[2] In order to solve the above-described problem, a display device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores self-device version information indicating a firmware version of the self-device, and a plurality of the display devices. A version information acquisition unit that captures other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the display devices, and the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit and the version information acquisition unit. A plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information are compared, and if the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions according to the comparison result, the latest For the display device corresponding to the other device version, the latest other device version It includes a version management unit that performs a transfer request of the firmware corresponding to John, the.

[3] In order to solve the above-described problem, a firmware update method according to one aspect of the present invention includes version information that captures, from a plurality of control devices, other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices. The own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit that stores the own device version information indicating the firmware version of the own device, and the other device version captured by the version information acquisition unit; A comparison step for comparing each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the information, and depending on a result of the comparison in the comparison step, if the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, For the latest other device version The control device that has a, and version management step of performing a transfer request of the firmware corresponding to the latest other device versions.

[4] In order to solve the above-described problem, a firmware update program according to one aspect of the present invention includes a computer including a storage unit that stores self-device version information indicating a firmware version of the self-device, and a plurality of control devices. A version information acquisition unit that captures other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices, and the own device version and the version information acquisition unit indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit. Are compared with each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information fetched by the step, and according to the result of the comparison, the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions. Corresponds to the latest device version That the control device, the latest and version management unit that performs a transfer request for the corresponding firmware to another device version, to function as a.

According to the present invention, the firmware of a plurality of display devices constituting a multi-display system can be easily unified with the latest firmware in the plurality of display devices.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus in the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement at the time of the update process of firmware. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when the version of the display apparatus in which the update function of firmware is started is not the latest version. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when the version of the display apparatus by which the update function of firmware is started is not the latest version. It is explanatory drawing which shows a process when the version of the display apparatus in which the update function of firmware is started is the newest. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process in case the version of the display apparatus with which the update function of firmware is started is the newest. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of an operation during firmware update processing. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus which concerns on the modification of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the control device 500 a includes a storage unit 501, a version information acquisition unit 502, and a version management unit 503. The control devices 500b, 500c,... Have the same configuration as the control device 500a. However, it is assumed that the firmware versions of the control devices 500a, 500b, 500c,... Are not unified. Further, the configuration will be described by taking the control device 500a as the own device, the control devices 500b, 500c,. In the following description, the control devices 500a, 500b, 500c,... May be referred to as the control device 500.

The storage unit 501 stores own device version information indicating the firmware version of the control device 500a.

The version information acquisition unit 502 takes in the other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices from the plurality of control devices 500b, 500c,.

The version management unit 503 compares the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit 501 with each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information fetched by the version information acquisition unit 502. Then, according to the result of the comparison, if the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, the version management unit 503 controls the control devices 500b, 500c, A request for transferring firmware corresponding to the latest other device version is made to any one of.

In addition, the version management unit 503 determines that when the self device version is newer than or equal to the newest other device version in the plurality of other device versions according to the result of the comparison, , The firmware corresponding to the own device version is transferred to any one of the control devices 500b, 500c,... Corresponding to the other device version.

Next, a display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The control device 500 described above is applied to this display device.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the display device 1 includes an MCU (Micro Control Unit) 11, an update control unit 12, a storage unit 13, an operation unit 14, an interface unit 15, an input unit 16, and a video processing unit. 17, a drive unit 18, and a display unit 19.

The MCU 11 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and an input / output unit. Further, the MCU 11 includes a firmware storage unit 20 including an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or a flash memory. The firmware storage unit 20 stores firmware. The firmware is a program that controls basic operations of the display device 1. That is, the MCU 11 controls the entire display device 1 by causing the CPU to execute the firmware. In this embodiment, the firmware storage unit 20 is built in the MCU 11, but the firmware storage unit 20 may be provided separately from the MCU 11.

The update control unit 12 executes the firmware update process of the MCU 11. The update control unit 12 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory. The firmware update process in the update control unit 12 will be described in detail later.

The storage unit 13 stores firmware version information stored in the firmware storage unit 20 in the MCU 11 and firmware backup. That is, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 13 includes a firmware version information storage area 51 and a firmware backup area 52. Firmware version information stored in the firmware storage unit 20 in the MCU 11 is stored in the firmware version information storage area 51. This version information is self-device version information. The firmware backup area 52 stores a backup of the firmware stored in the firmware storage unit 20 in the MCU 11.

By storing the firmware backup in the storage unit 13, when the display device 1 transfers the firmware to another display device 1, the display unit 1 reads the backup from the storage unit 13 and displays this backup in another display. Transfer to device 1. Thereby, the display device 1 can transfer the firmware to another display device 1 without stopping the multi-display operation as the multi-display system. Further, when the firmware data stored in the firmware storage unit 20 of the display device 1 becomes inaccessible due to destruction or the like, the backup can be transferred from the storage unit 13 to the firmware storage unit 20 to restore the firmware. it can.

The operation unit 14 receives a user input and transmits an operation signal to the MCU 11. When receiving an operation signal from the operation unit 14, the MCU 11 operates according to the operation signal. The operation unit 14 may be configured by an infrared remote controller. The operation unit 14 may be an OSD (On Screen Display) that displays an operation button superimposed on the screen.

The interface unit 15 performs data communication with other devices. In this embodiment, the interface unit 15 includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface 31, a serial interface 32, and a LAN (Local Area Network) interface 33.

The input unit 16 includes a circuit for selecting a video signal input path and a circuit necessary for video signal input. Further, the input unit 16 includes an A / D (Analog-to-Digital) converter when the input video signal is an analog signal, for example.

The video processing unit 17 includes a circuit that performs necessary processing for displaying the input video signal. For example, the video processing unit 17 includes a circuit that performs brightness adjustment, color correction processing, and the like. The drive unit 18 includes a driver that drives the display unit 19. The display unit 19 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence), and displays an image.

The display device 1 according to the present embodiment is used in a multi-display system in which a plurality of display devices 1 are arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to form one large screen. In the present embodiment, the display devices 1 constituting the multi-display system are connected to each other via a LAN (Local Area Network) interface 33 to form a network (see FIGS. 4 and 6). Each display device 1 has unique identification information. This identification information is, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address, a MAC (Media Access Control) address, or the like. The display device 1 performs data communication with the other display devices 1 via the network using the identification information. The LAN interface 33 performs data communication between devices constituting the network by, for example, CSMA / CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Multiple Access with Collision Detection).

When firmware update processing is performed for four display devices 1 (display devices 1a to 1d), an arbitrary one of the display devices 1a to 1d is selected, and the firmware update function of the display device is It is activated. The display device that activates the firmware update function may be any of the display devices 1a to 1d.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of firmware update processing in the display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The display device 1a is a display device that activates the firmware update function (also referred to as its own device), and the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d are other devices.

In FIG. 3, when a version upgrade instruction is input by the operation unit 14 of the display device 1a which is its own device (step S1), the update control unit 12 sends the

display device

1b, 1c, 1d on the network to the other display device 1b. The firmware version information transfer request is transmitted (step S2). In response to the transfer request for version information, firmware version information is supplied from the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d.

When the update control unit 12 receives the firmware version information from the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d on the network (step S3), the firmware version of the display device 1a that is its own device and the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d, respectively. The firmware version is compared (step S4). Then, the update control unit 12 determines whether or not the firmware version of the display device 1a is the latest (step S5).

When it is determined that the version of the display device 1a is not the latest (step S5: No), the update control unit 12 transfers the firmware to another display device on the network to the display device with the latest firmware version. A request is transmitted (step S6). If there are multiple display devices with the latest firmware version on the network, the update control unit 12 selects one display device from the display devices with the latest firmware version. Then, a firmware transfer request is transmitted. In this case, the update control unit 12 may select which display device to transmit the firmware transfer request. For example, the update control unit 12 selects one display device according to the identification information, and the firmware is transmitted to the display device. Send a transfer request.

When receiving the transferred firmware (Step S7), the update control unit 12 updates the firmware in the firmware storage unit 20 of the MCU 11 with the received firmware (Step S8). Then, the update control unit 12 rewrites the version information in the firmware version information storage area 51 based on the updated version, and stores the updated firmware backup in the firmware backup area 52 (step S9).

On the other hand, when it is determined in the process of step S5 that the version of the display device 1a is newer than or equal to the latest version of the versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d (step S5: Yes), update control is performed. The unit 12 reads the firmware from the firmware backup area 52 (step S10). Then, the update control unit 12 transmits the read firmware to the display device corresponding to the version when the versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d include an older version than the version of the display device 1a. (Step S11).

Next, firmware update processing in the display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the processing when the version of the display device 1a in which the firmware update function is activated among the display devices 1a to 1d connected to the network is not the latest version will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram when the version of the display device 1a on which the firmware update function is activated is not the latest version. In FIG. 4, the input unit 16, the video processing unit 17, the drive unit 18, the display unit 19, and the like are not shown for the sake of simplicity. In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the firmware versions of the

display devices

1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d connected to the network are as follows.

Display device 1a: Version Ver. 5.0
Display device 1b: Version Ver. 6.0
Display device 1c: Version Ver. 5.0
Display device 1d: Version Ver. 4.0

Thus, the firmware of the display device 1a is version Ver. 5.0, the firmware of the display device 1b is version Ver. Since it is 6.0, the firmware version of the display device 1a is older than the firmware version of the display device 1b.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing processing when the version of the display device 1a on which the firmware update function is activated is not the latest version. In FIG. 5, when the firmware update function of the display device 1a is activated (step S101), the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a sends a firmware version transfer request to the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d on the network. Multicast transmission is performed (step S102). In response to the version transfer request, the

update control units

12b, 12c, and 12d of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d read the version information from the firmware version

information storage areas

51b, 51c, and 51d of the

storage units

13b, 13c, and 13d. . Then, the

update control units

12b, 12c, and 12d transmit the read version information to the display device 1a (steps S103a, S103b, and S103c).

When the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a acquires the firmware version information of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d, the firmware version of the display device 1a is compared with the firmware versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. (Step S104). Then, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a determines whether or not the firmware version of the display device 1a is the latest (step S105). In this example, the firmware (version Ver. 6.0) of the display device 1b is the latest, and the firmware version (version Ver. 5.0) of the display device 1a is not the latest (step S105: No).

In this case, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a transmits a firmware transfer request to another display device on the network to the display device 1b having the latest version (step S106).

When receiving the firmware transfer request, the update control unit 12b of the display device 1b reads the firmware from the firmware backup area 52b of the storage unit 13b (step S107). Then, the update control unit 12b multicasts the firmware to the

display devices

1a, 1c, and 1d on the network (step S108). At this time, if there is a display device having the latest firmware in the

display devices

1a, 1c, 1d, the update control unit 12b of the display device 1b does not transmit the firmware to the display device.

Upon receiving the firmware from the display device 1b, the

update controllers

12a, 12c, and 12d of the

display devices

1a, 1c, and 1d update the firmware of the MCUs 11a, 11c, and 11d with the received firmware (Steps S109a, S109b, S109c). As a result, the firmware of each of the display devices 1a to 1d is all updated to the latest version Ver. It will be updated to 6.0.

Next, processing when the version of the display device in which the firmware update function is activated is the latest among the display devices connected to the network will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing processing when the version of the display device on which the firmware update function is activated is the latest. In FIG. 6, the firmware versions of the display devices 1a to 1d are as follows.

Display device 1a: Version Ver. 6.0
Display device 1b: Version Ver. 5.0
Display device 1c: Version Ver. 5.0
Display device 1d: Version Ver. 4.0

Thus, the firmware version of the display device 1a is newer than the firmware of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the processing when the version of the display device in which the firmware update function is activated is the latest. In FIG. 7, when the firmware update function of the display device 1a is activated (step S201), the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a multicasts a firmware version transfer request to the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. (Step S202). In response to the version transfer request, the

update control units

12b, 12c, and 12d of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d on the network perform version from the firmware version

information storage areas

51b, 51c, and 51d of the

storage units

13b, 13c, and 13d. Read information. Then, the

update control units

12b, 12c, and 12d transmit the read version information to the display device 1a (steps S203a, S203b, and S203c).

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. (Step S204). Then, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a determines whether or not the firmware version of the display device 1a is the latest (step S205). In this example, the firmware (version Ver. 6.0) of the display device 1a is the latest (step S205: Yes).

In this case, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a reads the firmware from the firmware backup area 52a of the storage unit 13a (step S206). Then, the update control unit 12a multicasts this firmware to the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d on the network (step S207). At this time, if there is a display device having the latest firmware in the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a does not transmit the firmware to the display device.

Upon receiving the firmware from the display device 1a, the

update controllers

12b, 12c, and 12d of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d update the firmware of the MCUs 11b, 11c, and 11d with the received firmware (Steps S208a, S208b, and S208c). ). As a result, the firmware of each of the display devices 1a to 1d is all updated to the latest version Ver. It will be updated to 6.0.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when performing the firmware update process, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a communicates with each of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d via the network, Version information is acquired from the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. Then, the update control unit 12a compares the firmware version of the display device 1a with the firmware versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. When the version of the display device 1a is older than the latest version of the versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d, the update control unit 12a transmits a firmware transfer request to the display device corresponding to the latest version. . When the version of the display device 1a is newer than or equal to the latest version of the versions of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d, the update control unit 12a sets the display device 1a to the version of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d. When a version older than this version is included, the firmware of the display device 1a is transferred to the display device corresponding to that version. Thereby, all the firmware of the display devices 1a to 1d connected to the network can be updated to the latest version. Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the firmware is not updated for the display device whose firmware version is already the latest.

In the above-described example, an upgrade instruction is given by operating the operation unit 14 of any display device (for example, the display device 1a) in a state where all the display devices 1a to 1d constituting the multi-display system are turned on. In this example, the firmware update function is activated when is entered. The activation of the firmware update function may be performed by operating a device such as a personal computer connected to the outside in addition to an input from the operation unit 14.

In addition, all display devices 1a to 1d constituting the multi-display system are turned on simultaneously or in conjunction with each other, and any display device (for example, display device 1a) is turned on. As an opportunity, the display device may activate a firmware update function.

For example, when all the display devices 1a to 1d are turned on, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the update control unit 12a of the display device 1a detects whether or not the power is turned on (step S51). When the power is turned on, the firmware update function may be activated. In FIG. 8, the processing of steps S52 to S61 is the same as the processing of steps S2 to S11 in FIG. 3, and the description thereof is omitted. In this way, when the power on is detected and the firmware update function is activated, the firmware version of each display device connected to the network is updated to the latest version without any user operation. can do. If any one of the display devices 1a to 1d constituting the multi-display system is not turned on (for example, the display device 1d), the firmware update process for the display devices 1a to 1c is performed. Will be performed.

[Modification of First Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the display device 1 according to this modification has a configuration in which the firmware backup area 52 is deleted from the storage unit 13 of the display device 1 in the first embodiment.

In the multi-display system configured using the display devices 1a to 1d having the configuration shown in FIG. 9, processing when the display device 1a is the own device and the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d are other devices will be described.

When the display device 1a receives firmware from any of the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d and updates the firmware, the update control unit 112 of the display device 1a converts the format while receiving the transferred firmware, A process of updating the firmware in the firmware storage unit 120 is performed.

Further, when the firmware of the display device 1a is the latest, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a directly reads the firmware from the firmware storage unit 20 of the MCU 11. Then, the update control unit 12 converts the read firmware into a transfer format, for example, a Hex format. The update control unit 12 then converts the format-converted firmware to the display device corresponding to the version of the

display device

1b, 1c, 1d when the version of the display device 1a is older than the version of the display device 1a. Send. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Thus, the capacity of the storage unit 13 can be reduced by the firmware backup area 52 by reading the firmware from the software storage unit 20 without providing the firmware backup area 52 in the storage unit 13.

In the first embodiment and its modifications, all of the plurality of display devices constituting the multi-display system have the same configuration. Then, the display device having the latest version firmware transfers the firmware to the display device having a firmware version older than the latest version, and unifies the firmware of all the display devices constituting the multi-display system to the latest version. . At this time, when a display device in which the latest firmware is already written is included in the multi-display system, the firmware rewriting process for the display device is not performed.

With this configuration, according to the first embodiment and the modification thereof, the firmware of all the display devices can be easily updated to the latest version by selecting any display device and starting the firmware update function. Can be unified. For this reason, management of the display apparatus which comprises a multi-display system becomes easy.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment of the present invention is an example in which, in a plurality of display devices constituting a multi-display system, one display device that activates the firmware update function is limited to a specific device having a firmware update control function. is there. Here, the display device 1a that activates the firmware update function is called a parent device, and each of the

other display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d is called a child device.

The configuration of the display device 1a, which is the parent device, is the same as the display device 1a in the first embodiment shown in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d that are the slave units are changed from the update control unit 12 to the update control unit 12a in the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d that are modifications of the first embodiment. Has a modified configuration.

The update control unit 12a in the slave unit has a function of returning the version information of the firmware of its own device in response to a transfer request for version information supplied from the master unit. Further, the update control unit 12a has a function of taking in the latest firmware supplied from the parent device and updating the firmware of the own apparatus with the latest firmware. Further, the update control unit 12a has a function of transferring the firmware of its own device to the parent device in response to a firmware transfer request supplied from the parent device.

The master unit is arranged, for example, at one corner of a multi-display system or an edge portion of a matrix configuration. Alternatively, the master unit is arranged at a position closest to the signal source or the control device. A subunit | mobile_unit is arrange | positioned in arbitrary positions.

When the firmware update function of the display device 1a serving as the parent device is activated, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a requests the transfer of version information to all the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d serving as the child devices. Send. Then, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a collects responses from the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. Then, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a identifies the latest version information by comparing the version information of the own device stored in the storage unit 13 with the version information acquired from each of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. To do.

[1] When the firmware version of the parent device is the latest When the version indicated by the version information stored in the storage unit 13 of the display device 1a that is the parent device is the latest version, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a Then, the backup of the firmware backup area 52 is read, and this backup is converted into a transfer format. Then, the update control unit 12 transmits the backup after the format conversion to the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d. The

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d that have received the firmware update the firmware of the own device and the version information in the version information storage area 151, respectively. At this time, if there is a display device having the latest firmware in the

display devices

1b, 1c, 1d, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a does not transmit a backup to the display device.

[2] When the version of the firmware of the parent device is not the latest When the version indicated by the version information stored in the storage unit 13 of the display device 1a that is the parent device is not the latest version, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a The latest firmware transfer request is transmitted to any of the slave units that have returned version information indicating the version. And the update control part 12 takes in the firmware supplied from the subunit | mobile_unit which received the transfer request | requirement of the newest firmware. Then, the update control unit 12 updates the firmware of the own device and the version information stored in the version information storage unit 51 with the captured firmware.

Further, the update control unit 12 of the display device 1a includes the collected version information of the

display devices

1b, 1c, and 1d that indicates a version older than the version indicated by the updated version information of the own device. If so, the latest firmware is transferred to the display device having version information indicating the old version. Then, the display device that has received the latest firmware updates the version information stored in its own firmware and the version information storage area 151.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in a multi-display system including a single parent device that can activate the firmware update function and a plurality of child devices, the firmware of all display devices can be easily updated to the latest state. can do.

The update control unit 12 of the parent device has an update control function, whereas the update control unit 12a of the child device has a limited function, and a general-purpose display device can be applied. Therefore, the cost can be reduced when configuring a large-scale multi-display system.

It should be noted that the display device shown in FIG. 9 can be applied as the parent device in this embodiment.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to connect a computer device to each display device of the multi-display system for the firmware rewriting process. Therefore, workability is good when the multi-display system is embedded in a wall surface or the like, and maintenance is good.

In the above-described embodiment, the update control unit 12 is used to control the firmware update of the MCU 11. However, the MCU 11 may be used to control the update of its own firmware.

In the above-described embodiment, the case of updating the firmware of a plurality of display devices constituting a multi-display system has been described. However, when various programs of a plurality of control devices connected to a network are updated, the same applies. Applicable.

Further, some functions of the control device and the display device according to the embodiment described above may be realized by a computer. In this case, a firmware update program for realizing the control device and the display device is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, the firmware update program recorded on the recording medium is read into the computer system, and the computer system It may be realized by executing. This computer system includes an operating system (OS) and hardware of peripheral devices. The computer-readable recording medium is a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk, or a memory card, and a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk or a solid state drive provided in the computer system. Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium holds a program dynamically for a short time, such as a computer network such as the Internet, and a communication line when transmitting a program via a telephone line or a cellular phone network. In addition, a server that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system serving as a server device or a client in that case, may be included. The firmware update program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions, and further, the above-described functions are realized by a combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. May be.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and includes design and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Display device 11 MCU
12, 12a Update control unit 13 Storage unit 15 Interface unit 33 LAN interface 51 Firmware version information storage region 52 Firmware backup region 501 Storage unit 502 Version information acquisition unit 503 Version management unit

Claims

A storage unit for storing self-device version information indicating the firmware version of the self-device;
A version information acquisition unit that captures, from a plurality of control devices, other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices;
Compare the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit with each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information captured by the version information acquisition unit, and determine the result of the comparison. Accordingly, when the self device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, the firmware corresponding to the latest other device version is sent to the control device corresponding to the latest other device version. A version management unit that makes a transfer request for
A control device comprising:
The version management unit, when the self device version is newer than or equal to the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions according to the comparison result, Transferring firmware corresponding to the own device version to a control device corresponding to the other device version when the version includes another device version older than the own device version;
The control device according to claim 1.
The version management unit, in accordance with the result of the comparison, when the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, for the control device corresponding to the latest other device version Requesting transfer of firmware corresponding to the latest other device version, while the self device version is newer than or equal to the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, Transferring firmware corresponding to the self device version to a control device corresponding to the other device version when a plurality of other device versions include another device version older than the self device version;
The control device according to claim 1.
In response to the transfer request by the version management unit, the firmware supplied from the control device corresponding to the latest other device version is fetched, the update process is executed by the firmware, and the version information indicating the version of the firmware An update unit for updating the device version information stored in the storage unit;
The control device according to claim 1, further comprising:
The storage unit further stores a firmware backup of the device itself,
The version management unit transfers the firmware backup read from the storage unit to a control device corresponding to the other device version;
The control device according to claim 2.
A storage unit for storing self-device version information indicating the firmware version of the self-device;
A version information acquisition unit that captures, from a plurality of display devices, other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of display devices;
Compare the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit with each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information captured by the version information acquisition unit, and determine the result of the comparison. Accordingly, when the self device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, the firmware corresponding to the latest other device version is displayed on the display device corresponding to the latest other device version. A version management unit that makes a transfer request for
A display device comprising:
A version information acquisition step of capturing other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices from a plurality of control devices;
The own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit storing the own device version information indicating the firmware version of the own device, and the plurality of other device version information captured by the version information acquisition unit A comparison step for comparing each of the other device versions;
Depending on the result of the comparison in the comparison step, if the own device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, the latest version is sent to the control device corresponding to the latest other device version. Version management step for requesting transfer of firmware corresponding to other device version;
A method for updating firmware.
A computer including a storage unit that stores self-device version information indicating a firmware version of the self-device,
A version information acquisition unit that captures, from a plurality of control devices, other device version information indicating the firmware version of each of the plurality of control devices;
Compare the own device version indicated by the own device version information stored in the storage unit with each of a plurality of other device versions indicated by the other device version information captured by the version information acquisition unit, and determine the result of the comparison. Accordingly, when the self device version is older than the latest other device version in the plurality of other device versions, the firmware corresponding to the latest other device version is sent to the control device corresponding to the latest other device version. A version management unit that makes a transfer request for
Firmware update program to function as